The course is to enhance the
postgraduates’ knowledge of the traditions and practices of Russian representative
institutions (the ZemskieSobors
of the 16th and 17th centuries, the pre-revolutionary State Duma,
the USSR Supreme Soviet, the Congresses of People’s Deputies of both the USSR and Russia,
the Federal Assembly of the Russian
Federation). The integral part
of the course are practical tasks aimed at mastering advanced techniques
of parliamentary research (the spectrum of political forces, roll calls,
legislative acts, parliamentary rhetoric etc.).

PartI.History and Traditions of Political Representation in Russia: The
idea o fpolitical representation in Russian political
culture. – Representative institutions of Medieval Muscovy. –
The Russian pre-revolutionary parliamentarianism. – Representative
institutions of Soviet Russian and the USSR. – Representative
institutions of perestroika.

Part II. Representative Institutions of Contemporary
Russia: Parliamentary activities in the Russian Federation
and their legal framework. – The institutional design of the contemporary
Russian parliament. – Political parties in contemporary Russia. – Deputy
associations (factions and deputy groups) of the State Duma.

Part III. Techniques of Parliamentary Research: Parliamentary research in contemporary
Russia
(conditions, goals and resources). – The spectrum of political forces as represented
in the State Duma (methods of analysis) – Roll
calls analysis. – Parliamentary discourse analysis.